Category: Schmitt Family History
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Signatures of My Ancestors
One of my favorite genealogical finds is the signature of an ancestor. Imagine my excitement when I saw four at the same time! My 2nd great-grandfather’s probate record contained signatures of all three of his children and that of his daughter-in-law: Jacob Koebe Mueller (1844-1910) was the father of Otto Victor…
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Mariage de François Schmitt et de Elisabeth Grosse
One of my favorite online resources for French records is Archives de la Moselle. Many of my Schmitt ancestors hail from the village of Hellimer in Moselle, Lorraine, France. Records for Hellimer are free (!) and available online from 1737 to 1791. When I want to see records from the period after 1791, I visit my local…
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Elise’s Divorce Lawyers
“And now on this (21st) twenty-first day of November 1874, comes the complainant by Jussen and Anderson, her solicitors…” The statement above was transcribed from my 2nd great-grandmother’s divorce papers. It made me wonder: Why would a 20-something German-speaking French woman from Ohio seek a divorce in Chicago? How did Elise Biedenharn (nee Schmitt) choose…
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Much Ado about Jennie Rose
You may not think the first wife of a 1st-cousin thrice-removed “deserves” a lot of research time. But there is a woman in my tree that’s been pulling at me of late, so today I’d like to give Jennie Rose (Beckley) Schmitt her 15 minutes of fame. Jennie’s husband Arthur J. Schmitt, the…
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Schmitt and Grosse Marriage in 1804
My French 4th great-grandparents were married on this day 210 years ago. This is their marriage record, written in Hellimer, Moselle, Lorraine, France on the 16th of January 1804. Transcription and translation are below. “Mariage de François Schmitt et de Elisabeth Grosse Du vingt cinq Nivôse an Douze de la République, acte de…
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Tying Up Loose Ends
Using the calendars in Family Tree Maker as a tickler file is helping tie up loose ends in my family history research. On this date in 1900, Clara Antoinette Joehnk was born in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio. Her parents were John and Clara nee Biedinger. Clara Biedinger’s parents were Nicholas and…
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A Second Look at December
Organizing one’s family history research is practically a full time job, isn’t it? I already have a full time job, so I have to get (and stay!) organized to make the most of the tiny windows of time I have available to actually do research. December first I began scanning records…
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Reasons to Research
How many names are in your tree? How far back have you gone? If you’ve ever told anybody that you are climbing your family tree, chances are you’ve heard these questions more than once. The answer I’d like to give? Ugh. Why? Because I’m not a collector of names and…
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Who was President?
Do you remember who was running for office when you first became aware of politics? Who was in the White House when you were born? When your parents were children? When your ancestors immigrated? One of my grade school teachers held a mock election during the 1972 United States presidential…
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June Anniversaries
Ancestors in my family tree who married this month include: 04 Jun 1895 Theodore REVERMAN and Mary Anna SCHMITT in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio. 10 Jun 1869 William HOGG and Mary Jane WALTON in Lonan, Isle of Man. 17 Jun 1920 Peter BERNARD and Edith Josephine WALTON in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.…